Two people comfort each other as they sit and mourn at one of seventeen crosses after a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerald Herb)

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File). FILE- In this March 6, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump listens to a question during a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Trump plans to meet with ...

President Donald Trump plans to meet with video game industry representatives as he considers various responses to gun violence after the Florida school shooting that left 17 people dead.

President Donald Trump plans to meet with video game industry representatives as he considers various responses to gun violence after the Florida school shooting that left 17 people dead.

(Scott Keeler/Tampa Bay Times via AP). Rep. Jose Oliva, R- Miami Lakes, front, and other members of the Florida House, applaud Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School parent Andrew Pollack, who's daughter, Meadow Pollack, was killed in the school shooting...

All eyes now turn to Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who has declined to say if he will sign a school safety bill with new restrictions on rifle sales and a program to arm some teachers.

All eyes now turn to Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who has declined to say if he will sign a school safety bill with new restrictions on rifle sales and a program to arm some teachers.

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICONAssociated Press

PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) - Under the unforgiving Florida sun, the stuffed animals along the makeshift memorial are beginning to fade. The prayer candles have melted, and the roses have withered.

Now it's time to collect, archive and preserve the mementos that honor the 17 students and faculty who were killed Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The grim assignment falls to Parkland city historian Jeff Schwartz, who has already heard from people associated with other mass shootings, telling him to collect the items with "some degree of speed."

"Objects could fade, get corroded, bug infested. And we want to be able to preserve all this," said Schwartz, president of Parkland Historical Society.

After these tragic events, archivists face the task of documenting mementos by cleaning, photographing and storing them for future display.

Virginia Tech University digitized and created an online archive following the 2007 mass shooting there. After the 2013 Boston marathon bombing, Boston stored the gifts and letters in boxes and uploaded them online. Newtown was flooded with tens of thousands of teddy bears to honor the 26 victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School's shooting. Families agreed to donate the toys to children in Afghanistan, Haiti and other countries, and the town kept handmade crafts and letters for a collection.

Less than two days after the Stoneman Douglas shooting, Schwartz got a call from close friend Ken Cutler, who sits on the Parkland city commission. Cutler told Schwartz to involve the historical society's board members and to instruct his archivist to save newspaper clippings and videos.

"Obviously, it ripped out the heart of everyone," Cutler said of the shooting. He is married to teacher at Stoneman Douglas.

Schwartz is forming a committee to gather and classify thousands of objects. His plan is to eventually display some at the library or at a museum the city has been envisioning next to an Indian burial site discovered in 1959. Families will be able to take any objects they want "for their own personal needs," Schwartz said.

Several gun control banners will be preserved to show the students' almost immediate reaction to the national debate. One read "Now is the time" and shows an AR-15 behind a prohibition sign. Another sign said: "Time for better gun laws" and stands near a table filled with glass jar candleholders with Catholic saints and icons known among Hispanic churchgoers such as "Our Lady of Guadalupe."

Historians and archivists from other mass shooting locales such as Las Vegas and Orlando have called Schwartz to offer advice. The bedroom city of Parkland already has a connection to Orlando's effort to honor its mass shooting victims. A well-known pizza restaurateur in Parkland is the brother of the owner of the Pulse nightclub, where a gunman killed 49 people in June 2016. The Parkland pizza shop, 3 miles (5 kilometers) away from the high school, has raised funds for the foundation to build a permanent museum and memorial for the Orlando victims.

In Parkland, superintendent for Broward County Schools Robert Runcie promises a memorial as well and the demolition of the three-story building where the shooting happened.

Fred Guttenberg, the father of Jaime, a 14-year-old girl who was killed in the attack, said it moves him to see the cheese crackers, puffs and Parmesan cheese that her friends left.

"Everyone knew that my daughter loved cheese and she specifically loved Parmesan cheese. Those were the people that loved her and knew her," he said.

Although Guttenberg is more focused on advocating for gun control, he said the size of the shrines sends a message.

"It is people's way of saying we can't forget those who lost their lives. We have to remember the massive way in which this happened," he said.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Authorities said Friday that the cables suspending a pedestrian bridge were being tightened after a "stress test" when the 950-ton concrete span collapsed over traffic, killing at least six people and injuring 10

Authorities said Friday that the cables suspending a pedestrian bridge were being tightened after a "stress test" when the 950-ton concrete span collapsed over traffic, killing at least six people and injuring 10

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) People attend a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of ....

A former student opened fire at the end of the day at a Parkland, FL, high school. There are multiple fatalities.

A former student opened fire at the end of the day at a Parkland, FL, high school. There are multiple fatalities.

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Monday, Feb. 19. Authorities said Cruz’s brother was arrested for trespassing at the same school on Monday, March 19. (Source: Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Monday, Feb. 19. Authorities said Cruz’s brother was arrested for trespassing at the same school on Monday, March 19. (Source: Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Authorities say the brother of the teen charged with killing 17 people at a Florida school has been arrested for trespassing at the same school.

Authorities say the brother of the teen charged with killing 17 people at a Florida school has been arrested for trespassing at the same school.

(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio). In a photo from Thursday, March 8, 2018, in Detroit, Alondra Alvarez, a student at Western International High School, goes through a metal detector and has her backpack checked as she enters the school. Experts say metal detec...

Schools around the US are looking for ways to impose tougher security measures in the wake of last month's school shooting in Florida. They don't have to look further than urban districts that have installed metal...

Schools around the US are looking for ways to impose tougher security measures in the wake of last month's school shooting in Florida. They don't have to look further than urban districts that have installed metal detectors and other security.

(Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool, File). FILE - In a Wednesday, March 14, 2018 file photo, Nikolas Cruz is lead out of the courtroom after an arraignment hearing at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Cruz is...

A commitment under the law would have made it more difficult if not impossible for Nikolas Cruz to obtain a gun legally.

A commitment under the law would have made it more difficult if not impossible for Nikolas Cruz to obtain a gun legally.